Crosscut Sled

wannabewoodworker · Post by **wannabewoodworker** » Fri May 06, 2011 11:11 pm

I have been looking to make a new rip fence for my Delta table saw to replace the severely lacking OEM fence. In my research I found a company called 80/20 that sells aluminum extrusions and they are pretty reasonable in price. They have an EBay store where you can get their stuff very cheap compared to their distributors. You can see some of the extrusions here http://www.8020.net/T-Slot-4.asp.

I priced out the extrusions, hardware and linear bearing for the fence at just under $300 for everything. Compared to a Biesmeyer or similar after market fence system that is not a bad price. This was for a fence that is 72" with a 3" x 3" square fence and 1.5" x 1.5" fence rails. This would secure the fence on both sides of the table making it very accurate and easy to set. I am sure that there are zillions of other uses that you could dream up using their extrusions and T-Slot hardware for woodworking use. The uses are only limited by your imagination really.

And on the subject of cutting aluminum, I have cut some aluminum angle on my Dewalt mitre saw using the stock carbide blade. It worked but gave me shivers while doing it. I would not recommend it for the faint of heart. The oil idea is really a great idea and one i will try if I ever get up the nerve to cut aluminum again on the mitre saw.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sat May 07, 2011 5:19 am

Thanks for that contact info.

Go ahead and cut that aluminum. I did and it worked great. I didn't use the oil because of the size of the job (small cross cuts on aluminum angle). However, do be careful with the shavings. They get everywhere. Clean up good immediately.

wannabewoodworker · Post by **wannabewoodworker** » Sat May 07, 2011 8:55 pm

dusty wrote:Thanks for that contact info.

Go ahead and cut that aluminum. I did and it worked great. I didn't use the oil because of the size of the job (small cross cuts on aluminum angle). However, do be careful with the shavings. They get everywhere. Clean up good immediately.

Yes when I made my cuts on the Mitre saw it made quite a mess but i got it all cleaned up immediately so as not to cause issue cutting wood later.

BigSky · Post by **BigSky** » Sun May 08, 2011 10:43 am

I was hard presses, if you know what I mean, to cut a number of shelves. With that pressure came a need to get them the same size and square. I decided that my best chance for success was to throw together a sled. I did; it worked. Problems came later when I tried to reinstall the sled which no longer mated neatly with the blade. After being over heard, I calmed down and gone it back to working but the saw kerf is no longer clean and neat and cannot be used as a marking gauge as other have mentioned.

What went wrong? ..... I decided it was inevitable because of the moving table and adjustable quill. Does every one have this obstacle to deal with?

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sun May 08, 2011 12:06 pm

[quote="BigSky"]I was hard presses, if you know what I mean, to cut a number of shelves. With that pressure came a need to get them the same size and square. I decided that my best chance for success was to throw together a sled. I did]

Were the quill and carriage at their 'stopped' positions when kerf cut originally? Same blade? Warpage? Arbor tight against quill?

All possible culprits.

BigSky · Post by **BigSky** » Sun May 08, 2011 12:31 pm

JPG40504 wrote:Were the quill and carriage at their 'stopped' positions when kerf cut originally? Same blade? Warpage? Arbor tight against quill?

All possible culprits.

I thought I checked all those things, except warpage. This happened over a two/three day period. Maype carriage position wit respect to the headstock.

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Sun May 08, 2011 12:55 pm

And did ya put the same side in first? The front side from the first use?

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Sun May 08, 2011 2:26 pm

Gremlins...

.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun May 08, 2011 6:00 pm

[quote="BigSky"]I was hard presses, if you know what I mean, to cut a number of shelves. With that pressure came a need to get them the same size and square. I decided that my best chance for success was to throw together a sled. I did]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but nothing went wrong. This is the nature of the beast. There are too many variables involved for this type of cut off sled.

I have two (home made) and both have a kerf line that is considerably wider than the blade with which they were cut.

Carriage location, headstock location, table tilt, quill position, arbor not fully inserted (every time), arbors not all exactly the same, wide kerf blades and failure to lock everything in the proper position...all of these can contribute to what you describe.

However, I still use my cross cut sleds. The primary function of the sled is not lost. The only feature permanently lost is the use of the kerf cut for stock placement.

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JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sun May 08, 2011 9:05 pm

One 'feature' of the appalachian sled is the use of inserts for the saw kerf and fence. It uses 1/4" mdf that fits into recesses.

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